Stand up for Sindh Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah. Ever shy of media publicity, Shah’s performance during the Sindh Assembly’s budget session was one of poise, grace and maturity – former Chief Minister Abdullah Shah would have been proud of his son. Sindh’s current state is unique insofar as the pressure on resources is concerned: the province was left devastated because of last year’s floods, and funds from all departments have had to be directed towards rehabilitation of those displaced and reconstruction of all that was destroyed. What Sindh has in common with others, among other issues, are extreme population pressures on its urban centres, low incomes of its populace, widespread unemployment, ailments such as hepatitis, malaria and polio. A small capital market does not help matters; those employed are clinging onto their jobs and those unemployed are taking to the streets to ask for some.
Given our general state of underdevelopment and very few funds, a no-new-taxes budget is welcome. What was more surprising was that Sindh’s budget plans a surplus of Rs 882.1 million. Another important element was the focus on “Development by Programmes” rather than “Development by Schemes.” Development packages for Karachi, a separate one for Lyari, Hyderabad, Larkana and Benazirabad are also important – in part because a better spatial spread of urban centres in important to reduce pressures on a single or two urban centres.
Caution needs to be exercised, however, before elatedly applauding the Finance Department: promises of a surplus budget have been made before, but almost always followed up with mini-budgets and new taxes. The tag team of Murad Shah and Kaiser Bengali will have to prove that their initial planning – unless disturbed by some other natural disaster – is for the entire year.
Despite the positives, there were some lacunas in the budget document. For starters, a sector-wise distribution of all figures needed to be spelt out more clearly. PPP members applauded Shah for a growth of 342 percent in education; in fact, this increase was in non-salary budget of schools in Sindh under the Minimum Funding Standard for Schools (MFSS) scheme. Figures of the ADP similarly were unclear, with little details given about sector-wise spending.
Yet, this is not time for criticism; that can come later; 2011marks the start of the end of the PPP’s current tenure. If a surplus can indeed be achieved, and we must hope that it will, its benefits should be translated to the people in tangible ways. Surplus wheat production is good, but the government will only be able to benefit if prices are reduced. New energy projects are required, but load shedding needs to finish.
Sindh seems to be on the right track, but we need more from our legislators. Here’s to hoping 2011 is a year of joy and happiness in Sindh, not more devastation.